Exchanging Gifts, Exchanging Smiles
by Nette
Summary: Um … fuzzy Christmas with Carter and Abby. ; ) - Carby! ; )


**Rating**: PG

**Spoilers**: Nope. No spoilers at all!

**Summary**: Um … fuzzy Christmas with Carter and Abby. ; )

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything … ; )****

**Feedback**: Sure, I'd love to know what you think! nette_mails@yahoo.de or use the review button. ; )

**Author's Notes**: This is another answer to the OCOH December challenge. Fuzzy Carby Christmas – no angst – 1000 to 2000 words! : )

I didn't think that it could be that hard to write pure fuzz … it wasn't easy. But Tracey said I had to write … ; ) She also beta read this! Thank you! ::hugs::

The title is a line from the song "Christmas At Home" by Rita MacNeil.

But now on with the fic … I hope you'll like it a bit …

Exchanging Gifts, Exchanging Smiles 

I open my heavy eyelids slowly, trying to get adjusted to the harsh sunlight coming through the crack in the curtains as I hear her voice.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she says with a smile before she leans over to me to caress my cheek and to kiss my lips lightly. "I thought you'd never wake up."

I rub my eyes and smile back at her as I see her face in front of mine. "Abby, it's Christmas morning and we have the day off," I say in a raspy voice. "Why should we be up already?" I ask her, still half asleep, glancing at the alarm clock. "It's 8 am."

"Because it's time to open the presents," she says excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

I can't help but chuckle slightly. Her eyes are sparkling and she looks as excited as a little girl waiting for the moment to unwrap the gifts under the tree.

"You sound like you'd get loads of presents today. Have you been _that_ good this year?" I ask her with a wink.

She sticks her tongue out at me playfully. "Yes, I've been a good girl this year – you should know. So I should get lots of presents. But it's not about what _I_ get this year – but what _you_ get," she says – the wide smile back in her face.

I smile back at her. I know she's dying to tell me what it is. And she would if I asked her more. But I don't want to ruin her surprise.

"So you think I've been a good boy this year, too and you told Santa about it?"

She nudges my side with her elbow. "I didn't need to tell him. He can see us, you know?"

"Right," I say, rolling my eyes. "So he _saw_ I was a good boy, huh?"

"What do _I_ know?" she says and rolls her eyes – but with a smirk. "But I know it would be easy to find out – you just have to get your cute little butt out of the bed and go downstairs with me."

"You think he was already here?"

"Yep – he had the night shift," she says and winks at me.

With that she jumps out of the bed and takes the blanket with her, pulling at my arm.

Before I freeze to death in bed I get up to follow her. But first I make her stop once I'm standing in front of her.

"Hey, I didn't say good morning properly yet."

"Right," she says and wraps her arms around my neck.

"Good morning," I say and lean down to kiss her. It's just a short and light kiss at first. But when I lean down to kiss her again the kiss deepens as I wrap my arms around her waist to hold her close to me.

But after just a few seconds she pulls back and smiles at me. "As much as I love this – we should really go downstairs to see what Santa brought," she says before she tugs at the sleeve of my pyjama top again, to make me follow her.

I really wonder what she got me that she's so excited about.

I hurry to follow her and almost bump into her as once we're downstairs in front of the living room door she stops suddenly and turns to face me.

"Close your eyes."

"Abby … "

"Close your eyes … _please_?"

I have to laugh slightly. She really takes this serious this year. "Don't you think I'm a little too old for closing my eyes?"

"I want it to be a surprise."

I can't resist her when I look at her. I think I know now what she means when she accuses me of that 'puppy dog' look.

As I close my eyes I feel her take my hand in hers, I hear her open the door and she leads me inside.

It smells like Christmas in the room and I'm excited to finally see why she's making such a big deal of this.

She leads me over to the sofa and helps me sit down once we reach it.

"Can I open my eyes now?" I ask her.

"Yes," she says – still with the same excitement in her voice. "You can look now."

I open my eyes slowly and am amazed when I look around the room. Everything is decorated beautifully. Not that the room wasn't decorated before. But the candles and extra decorations just add to whole atmosphere.

I turn towards her and smile. "This is beautiful. When did you do this?" I ask her and lean down to kiss her.

"Last night," she says and shrugs her shoulders. "You were working late and I knew you'd go straight to bed when you came home. You like it?" she asks shyly.

"I love it, Abby. It looks really great!"

She just smiles at me. "Good, because I wanted this Christmas to be perfect," she says before she reaches over to the Christmas Tree and brings a tiny package, wrapped in silver paper and a silver bow delicately placed on top.

"This is for you," she says and places it in my hands and kneels in front of me again. Her eyes looking up expectantly at me.

If it was the other way around – me sitting where she is and her holding the box somewhat in awe of what could be in there. I'd say the setting and mood would be right to propose to her. Could she read my mind? But that can't be it. Ever since the disaster of a proposal I performed on the roof we never mentioned marriage again. She never said she didn't want it – but she didn't accept it either. Though maybe she thought I was not serious …

"Open it," she says, brining me out of my thoughts. I guess I'll know soon.

I'm surprised to actually see a ring in the box when I open it. Now I know what the game of twenty questions was for as we were at the jewellers last week.

"Abby … shouldn't it be the other way around …"

"Shhh," she says and takes the ring out of the box. "I know this is not the old fashioned way, but … you already proposed to me once," she says and takes my hand in hers. "And it was me who didn't really give you an answer. I was scared back then and didn't know what to think. I wasn't sure if you meant it … But I love you and now I just don't want to wait any longer. So I'm asking you … do you want to marry me?"

She's biting her bottom lip nervously and her eyes are filled with tears.

Though I can hardly see a thing since my eyes are filled with tears, too. I can't believe she's doing this. There was a time when I wasn't sure if she'd yes if I asked her. And now she's asking _me_. But maybe I should finally answer her. I don't want her to think that I have any doubts about this.

"I do! I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you," I say and lean down to kiss her deeply.

I think that maybe she should have hers too, when she slips the ring onto my finger.

I reach into my pyjama pocket and get out the little box I have for her.

She looks at me with a grin. "You … "

I nod. "Yeah, I wanted to ask you too, today," I say and smile at her.

"We're hopeless … but I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Merry Christmas," I say to her and lean back against the couch while I pull her down with me and she rests her head on my chest.

"Merry Christmas," she answers. 

This is turning into my favourite Christmas yet.


End file.
